Super Paper Mario (Wii)
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
For 1 player in normal gameplay (no multiplayer)

The Wonderful Pathways of Paper
Back in the olden days, or should I say Nintendo’s 64-bit take-over, Mario perfected in a different style of an adventure. We never had a clue that that plumber wasn't only a platformer until the release of Super Mario RPG (SNES). Then, Nintendo decided to further his non-platform area resulting in the débute of the first Paper Mario game (February 5, 2001). In my opinion, Paper Mario (64) is one of the greatest video games in my collection. It clearly started a revolution towards a great series that led to wonderful entertainment. Much to my surprise, they enhanced his adventure even farther when Intelligent Systems done it again only for the 128-bit marvel, the Nintendo Gamecube. For the GCN, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was released to the public, October 12, 2004. Both games now added up to excitement for the publishing of Super Paper Mario; after much impatient waiting, it has entered the shelves of your local video game store, alas. So now, be appalled by the magnificence of this amusing video game, because it’s going to take Mario to another level--now he’s Super!

Somewhere After the Reading…
The story makes its worldwide appearance (in the beginning of the game) to what seems to be endless words, sentences, and paragraphs; eventually, it feels like your finger is going to fall off because of scrolling forever. That doesn't matter to a certain extent for us gamers of the older age, although it continues like so throughout the entire game. For the younger ones approaching the game, there is a possibility of getting your "entertainment bubble" popped (like I would like to do to the text bubbles). Anyway, to the ones who actually examine what is being said, you will find the usual, hilarious and clever Paper Mario writing. Though the literary features are not the dominant reason I am reviewing this, I made note of them to illustrate a part of the game that you might be cautious of. However in this case, the remotely bad text documents lead to the ultimate performance and spectacular finale.

There's No Graphics like These (Graphics: 7 of 10)
These graphics are quite unique, indeed. It's hard to give the game's graphics a rating since the game is paper-based (and is probably not that revolved around the graphic appeal). In addition, the 2-D: beautiful background, color balance and quality, paper-like "feel" and texture, as well as the overall scheme of the flat look, have an abundant amount of pulchritudinous, or great beauty/appeal. Yes, I do in fact praise the length and width; when we begin discussing the depth, then a vast area of scolding appears (math hurts, eh?). The 3-D look can be simply described as--blah. Blah, meaning the abandoned work of matching the wonderfully made image of the first two dimensions--sadly, the latter causes me to decrease the score. (I would have given it lower; however, I believe that graphics were around the last thing that Nintendo was worrying about distributing in this game's release.)



Battles and Partners and Pixls—Oh My! (Gameplay: 9 of 10)
To start gliding (since we are talking about paper), the vast array of new features truly gave this game an impelling twist…not that Paper Mario games aren't already thrilling. If you were anticipating the typical Paper Mario game where you run around and battle Koopas and what not, you're in for a raving, absurd expedition! This absurdity takes its form as a platform game, obviously with a Paper Mario "theme." Instead of only utilizing Mario's well-known jump to attack enemies, you will execute that, as well as deal "Paper Mario damage." This, in turn, depletes your foe's set amount of hit points like in the previous titles. Along with that, the element of experience points is implemented in this dynamic fighting style; the predecessor link allowed the game to keep its Paper Mario title and of course, made it quite rewarding. This "hybrid-type" fighting style I mention combines the usual Paper Mario and the usual Super Mario battling types to produce an overall great gameplay setting…and the game’s name!

Another of these features is that Mario isn't stealing the spotlight this time. Well in a sense he is (hence Super Paper Mario); however, some playable characters include the female protagonist Princess Peach as well as the usually sinister antagonist, Bowser, the Evil King of the Koopas. Probably the most popular ability is flipping between 2-D and 3-D with Mario. This genuine ability serves as his trademark for this game, and is commonly used throughout the whole game to unveil secret passages and hidden items. Mario serves as the one who can jump the highest; he can also employ his remarkable ability causing the "dimensional drama" I talked about previously, at any time. Peach on the other hand is equipped with her parasol, like in Super Smash Brothers Melee, allowing her to effortlessly float across holes and chasms, reaching ground like no other heroine. Bowser [insert evil laugh]…is actually willing to help you this time. Bowser serves as the mitochondria of your party, which is the powerhouse (think back to science class people). He has as much power as Mario and Peach combined, so his attacks serve up two times the damage compared to them. Breathing fire is Bowser's specialty and it permits you to take down enemies with a sizzle. I can't believe it either, but you do indeed have fire in your arsenal of abilities.

Instead of the various helpers the Paper Mario series has already offered, a replacement will be made. This new assistance will come from creatures resembling fairies called Pixls. These Pixls are not as useless as 1 pixel on a computer; in fact, they are the driving force that allows you to advance in the story. A large array of Pixls can be found in the game, some with abilities such as the past allies like in Paper Mario (64). For instance, Boomer (obviously the bomber of the group) substitutes the skill of Bombette, and can be used to destroy walls that were previously cracked. Along with that, their powers can be utilized during combat which will ease the challenge.

Listen, Listen, Listen, Listen, Listen to the Soothing Sounds (Sounds: 7 of 10)
Reminiscence of the great 8-bit sounds…with a variation! Not only hearing my variated parts of my favorite compositions, I gain new ones throughout the assortment of places Mario voyages to. The music is efficiently placed, but the repetition is what really brought this score down. Sounds in the game are decent in the beginning, but subsequent to listening to them for Dorothy-knows-when impairs the rating--and of course your ears. No offense, however, try again dear composers.

I Don't Think We're Playing Anymore (Longevity: 8 of 10)
I don't think we are in Kansas anymore either. This galactic adventure will last you quite a while and it's definitely not going to take forever to complete. It is estimated to last about 20+ hours of gameplay, unless you wish to locate anything that you possibly had forgotten; no matter the estimation, the recommended time is one that you can enjoy. I personally had a pleasurable amount of entertainment playing this new release, but why the 8 score? The game isn't perfect, which would be extremely challenging to accomplish (-1), but I personally believe the hybrid game genre caused unexpected problems. For a part-platform game, the elapsed sum of longevity seems to exceed what was needed; I personally got rather bored due to repetitive: gameplay, dialogue/text, and even the excitement level. It seemed that just a touch of the typical Paper Mario was relinquished, including what I mentioned just before, causing the extra deducted point (-1).

And I'll Get Your Little Conclusion Too!
Unlike the Evil Witch of the West, this game is in fact incredible. Being the first Mario game produced for the Wii, it had a foundation to create for the future titles. Even at this preface of gaming glee, the results are amazing. The production announcement kept gamers across the world on their feet awaiting the release; you have only heard my opinion on the matter, so go uncover your's. The astounding game added a sparkle to my Wii collection--so now allow your inventory of games to shine!

Scoring Recap:
Graphics: 7/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Sounds: 7/10
Longevity: 8/10

Overall Score: 8.7/10
A wonderful game recommended to all!


This review brought to you by FireEmblem8.